Republican Chairman Not Concerned By Personal Attacks At GOP Debate

Within minutes of the first question, Minnesotans Tim Pawlenty and Michele Bachmann tore into each other, and continued throughout the night.

At one point Bachmann accused Pawlenty of having the same policies as President Barack Obama when he was Governor of Minnesota. Pawlenty fired back, saying Bachmann has no record of accomplishments, and added "Please stop, because you're killing us."

But Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus told Business Insider he is not at all concerned that the candidates vying to replace President Barack Obama will hurt the party's chances by attacking each other.

"I think passion is high — people are excited about taking our country back...I think that is good," he said.

Asked if he thought Ronald Reagan's eleventh commandment — "Thou shalt not speak ill of any fellow Republican"— was no longer in place, Priebus said he didn't think the candidates violated it.

"They are trying to differentiate themselves from the other candidates — and I think the more of that, the better," he said.